St Alban, Wood Street

It was a brilliant bright sunny morning in London today with rich blue sky, sadly I was there for work, not play. I took some quick shots of St Paul's but thought my picture of this unusual tower was more interesting.

There has been a church on this site since the eighth century when King Offa had a palace with a chapel here. Offa founded the first abbey in St Albans, following which a number of churches in the City of London were dedicated to St Alban. In the 12th century the church that stood here (probably not Offa's chapel but on the same site) was known as St Alban, Wudersgate. The current church, built by Christopher Wren in 1685 after the original was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, was partially destroyed during the Blitz, and this superb tower is all that remains. It is now a private residence, holding its own on a traffic island!

I have been trying to catch up, so lots of backblips, and I will catch up with all your journals soon.